So on Saturday I got up pretty early for what was enivitably going to be a very, very long day. We (and by we, I mean, Tabitha Rachel Andy and myself) were all going out to the town of Cerveteri, about an hour outside of Rome by bus. Why? To see Etruscan Tumuli.
A Tumulus is a type of burial mound that can be found all over they world through many different regional variations. You might know the bee-hive huts of Ireland or perhaps those of the Hallstatt found in Austria. While there are many different kinds of Tumuli, the idea is basically the same. Underground burial sites that are made larger by adding dirt on top. However what was interesting about the Etruscan Tumuli was their complex floor plans (mostly based on the houses the Etruscans would have lived in), not to mention that many of them were amazingly well preserved.
The Etruscans were the Pre-Roman people of Italy, from which we derive the name "Tuscany" they were a people who were greatly influenced culturally by the Greek Colonies in the South, but were still unique from the other cultures around them. Sadly, much of their culture was lost, or rather, absorbed when the early Romans conquered them (a fate that is prone to happen to those without centeralized government). After which the Etruscans were characterized by the far more austere Romans as being loud, crude, liberal and down-right coarse people whom the Roman's had had the good sense to eliminate. But in a more positive light, you could call them people who were into life, food and love. (a very early indication of the Italian people themselves)
Much of what we know about Etruscan life is what we learned through their deaths. Hence the field trip.
The Tumuli had a large variety in size and shape The simplest being a rectangular cut-out of the stone, the most elaborate being full-scale houses. The most famous of these being the "Tomb of the Reliefs"
http://www.tronchin.com/Art1A/lecture11_files/image015.jpg
But my favorite was not the "tomb of the reliefs" but the one right next to it; which featured a secret passage that went under the stairs and led into another burial chamber. That one was amazing because when you walk by it on ground level you see a small well-like hole and then when you're down in the secret room, it's your only source of light. I'm thinking maybe they would use it to burn fires underground and have a place for the smoke to go. That...or to scare children, really either one would work.
In Cerveteri there were over 60 tombs you could walk in (we may have gone in some that were restricted..but I brought my waterproof boots to Italy for this very reason), many of which with paintings like the one seen above. Also, there was a snack bar...in the Tumuli grouds...ok. sure. why not. I ate there, the lasangna was delicious.
Sadly all of the urns had been either taken out, stolen or destroyed. Which is a shame because while i'm usually creeped out by cemetaries and death somehow an urn that looks like this:
http://www.puc-rio.br/louvre/images/iager05.jpg
http://www.bicciculture.com/bChome/wp-content/uploads/etruscan_couple.jpg
is a little less eerie.
The best part is when Tabitha and I were walking around on the upper level through a series of mounds, we eventually climbed to the top of one and got the most amazing view of the ocean on the left and the mountains on the right. Just past the Tumuli was a vineyard..Sometimes I love this place so much it hurts. A list? lets?
1) Wine
2) Beautiful
3) Ancient History
4) Architecture
5) Etruscans
6) there were also cows there...i guess.
So overall a very cool trip.
On our way back Andy noticed that there was a crypt he had visited for class one day was still open, so we hurried and went inside. Well, I suppose this must have been a burial-themed day because while the Etruscan Tumuli had no bodies in it, this crypt was entirely made of human bones.
This Crypt is better known as the Capuchin Cemetary.
as close as the spelling is to Cappuchino, this crypt was not, in reality, a fluffy delicous coffee beverage. The crypt houses the bones of over 4,000 monks in 6 small rooms. The reason so many of them wished to be burried there was that the dirt that lines the crypt was brought over from Jerusalem in the early part of the 1500's. However 4000 people take up a lot of space so the monks decided to take the remains and create intricate patterns with the bones.
It's strange, creepy and downright wierd, but also intriquingly and morbidly beautiful. Granted the whole time we were in there I thought I might pee my pants, but I had heard about it and I'm glad I got to see it.
Here are some pictures (Be forwarned, very creepy):
http://www.stuardtclarkesrome.com/CAPUC2.JPG
http://www.qsov.com/Italy2005/018CapuchinCrypt1.jpg
http://www.qsov.com/Italy2005/019CapuchinCrypt2.jpg
After all that Hullaballoo we decided to get a nice dinner, you know, to get the creepy out. I had the first legitamate chicken sandwich I had had in four months.
This morning I went to the Porta Portese Market and bought Christmas presents....counterfeit? possibly. cool? very much so.
No comments:
Post a Comment